Gleaming Moon
by Great Lady A
Summary: What happened to Ibuki Ryunosuke? Saitou sets out in search of answers. Meanwhile there is trouble brewing and its headed straight for Kyoto. Dawn of the Shinsengumi. Ibuki-centric. Slash (mxm). Major plot diversion and a few original characters.


_**A/N: This will be my first story. I'm not sure how far I will go with this one and updates may be slow. This story is Ibuki-centric. I use mainly Hakuouki Dawn of the Shinsengumi as my source material so the story line will not be following the seasons after that follow.**_

 _ **All standard disclaimers apply.**_

 _ **Warnings: This story will contain slash as well as original characters and references to religious rituals some may find offensive. Reader discretion is advised.**_

 **Chapter 1**

The scene before him truly was magnificent. The first rays of morning light peaking over the mountains to fall upon the valley nestled below. Dew drops shone brightly in the fields around the village, a pleasant tapestry of bright greens welcoming weary travelers to rest after their long trek over the mighty Kanmuri mountains from which he now descended. For the first time in his life Ryunosuke Ibuki understood what it was that drove artists to work tirelessly, attempting to capture such beauty. In that moment the stress and fear and pain of his current situation seemed to be driven out of him, forgotten and left behind as he simply took in the scene before him. Imagining what it would be like to live in such a place, deluding himself that this would all blow over and then he could find a place just like this to live and play his flute, maybe he could open a tea shop so that others would also have a place to sit and enjoy the view.

A hand clapped down heavily on his shoulder and shoved him further down the path, shattering the illusion and dragging him back to his painful reality. This was not a beautiful paradise of seclusion and peace, it was a cruel and taunting mask. A beautifully crafted mask designed to hide the ugly truth of what happened in this place from the eyes of the law, the righteous and passers by alike. To protect these cruel heartless people and their dark and dirty deeds from the persecution they rightfully deserved. Amber eyes lowered in disappointed acceptance and young shoulders slumped heavily as he trudged further down the path, aware of the punishment if he dared to fall behind. He did not scream or shout or call out desperately for help or deliverance from the merciless fate that lay before him. He did not fight or run or resist in any way, experience had taught him it would do nothing but bring more pain and suffering down upon his head. He knew. He knew because he had tried, time and time again until the ugly truth he had so verdantly denied had beaten its way into his mind. There was no escape. No rescue and no end to this, any of it. Fixing his gaze on the village below and trying to sear the landscape into his memory he continued the journey down the mountain.

The people of Kyosei village retreated into their homes quickly, sealing their doors and windows as a procession neared. Mothers and fathers ushered the children inside and sat tensely in silence as they waited for the group to pass through, hoping that they would pass quickly and without incident. Four men marched into the village, their strides did not falter as they led the way through the village to the Miboro lake beyond. Behind the vanguards a horse drawn carriage trundled along. It was not bright or overly decorated, a simple sophisticated affair of dark wood and polished steel tugged along by two large brown horses, exuding an air of power as it passed by, revealing a circular coat of arms; a cypress tree that seemed to bare chains and daggers like fruit while a tortoise sat below surrounded by calla lilies. The coachman whipped the reigns lightly as the end of the town drew nearer and sped along the road to the forest beyond the lake.

The procession followed not slowing or stopping guards simply continuing their tasks with the mindless insistence for men who were simply following orders as they dragged their unfortunate cargo along with them. Some of the more unruly prisoners renewed their struggles at the sight of the settlement, desperate calls for help falling on the deaf ears of terrified villagers. One particularly energetic girl broke free from her captors and rushed to a house, banging on the door and calling out for the residents to open. One of her guards simply walked over and knocked her on the head with a wooden baton that hung by his side before dragging her back to her place in line by the ragged remains of her once fine kimono. This seemed to sap the energy from the remaining resisting prisoners, silencing them. So the procession shuffled on towards the lake, rows upon rows of prisoners being escorted by a guard or two each, carts would occasionally breaking up the line as they shuttled goods along. Just when it seemed that the whole group had passed through one more young man accompanied by a guard entered the village. His clothes were as worn and dirty as the prisoners before him, his guard walked close by his side and his hands were bound, yet he did not seem like a prisoner. He wandered more than he walked, amber gaze absorbing the world around him and correcting his course when his guard would steer him to do so. The young man wandered along with the same purposeless aura of a lost child, curious and without fear, almost as if he had not yet realised the danger he was in. Unknowingly capturing the attention and sympathy of the spying villagers he wandered along and away behind the procession and out of the town leaving behind nothing but dust and solemn watchers.

An old man opened his door and walked heavily on his cane to the middle of the road, tracking the caravan of unfortunate souls and the young man as they rounded Miboro lake and disappeared into the trees beyond. "There is something about that boy," he rasped to the crowd behind him, "if he turns up or someone comes asking you tell them where he is, you hear?" Silently the villagers nodded to their elder and then went about their day, pretending that they had never seen the caravan and wishing that they could blot it from their memories. After all none of the people from any of the other processions had ever been seen again...

This...Is...A...Line...To...Divide...Text...And...Change...Scene...

The streets of Kyoto were bursting with life.

Brightly decorated stores and stalls and walking vendors all calling out and showing off their wares to the passing crowds. Housewives chattering away as they shopped with children at their feet. Men working or sitting and drinking. Children, runaways and orphans, playing their games in the streets, grabbing snacks from stores owners when they saw a chance. Servants ran about running errands or calling out for the crowds to make way for their lords or ladies carriages or litters. Horses and oxen and donkeys and chickens crowded the streets as well carrying their separate burdens or getting underfoot. All in all it was perfectly loud and ordinary morning in the city.

Through all this hustle and bustle groups of walked proudly in their blue and white uniforms, calling attention and solving disputes as they went. The Shinsengumi. They had built a firm and positive reputation for themselves over the past two years. Steadfastly preforming their duties and slowly growing their numbers as in became clear they intended to enforce order rather than using their authority to make life difficult for the citizens. Cheerfully helping those in need, enforcing the law and steadily removing the fearful uncertainty that the people of Kyoto had lived under it seemed that the Shinsengumi were well and truly on their way to accomplishing their goals.

Today however it was clear that regardless of their proud and steady pace, their dutiful protection and their helpful attitude it was a gloomy day for certain members of their ranks. No amount of sunny weather or cheerful greetings and tasty snacks could lift the cloud of depression, and in some cases outright worry, that had fallen over these officers of the law. Even Chizuru, who spent most of her peaceful days by their side, could not fully understand the current mood.

The cloud had fallen during breakfast when the ever stoic Saitou had not eaten a bite and simply hung his head silently, almost as if he were praying. Before fixing Hijikata with an unreadable stare, the pair had refused to back down and the hall slowly grew silent.

"Two years today." Saitou had stated softly. "Today, it has been two years since we lost Ibuki-kun."

A wave of depressed sadness had fallen over the oldest members of the Shinsengumi, an array of expressions finding their way onto their faces. Sorrow, guilt and regret seeming to sap up the levity of before. Hijikata had held his gaze and slowly inclined his head while Kondou had lowered his head sadly. The silence seemed to stretch impossibly thin, dominating the room, almost sacred in the way that it remained unbroken and yet filled with meaning.

"I wish to go." Saitou said calmly. "I wish to go and find out what happened to him."

"When?" Hijikata asked neutrally, a stark contrast to pain that shone in his eyes.

"Tomorrow, at dawn. I plan to begin my search in the northwest." came the reply, followed by a softer almost unheard "that is where the floods of that river lead."

Chizuru had not believed that the atmosphere in the room could have become any heavier until those words were mentioned. Beside her Okita stiffened, glancing quickly at Heisuke, who seemed to be attempting to set him of fire with his gaze, before shifting his gaze to Kondou questioningly.

Hijikata and Saitou continued to stare at each other, each seeming to be waiting the other out. Just then there was a knock at the kitchen door and a call that rang through the house, breaking whatever spell had been cast.

"Eat." said Hijikata, standing up and moving to the door. "We will discuss it and answer you tonight, Saitou-san." The door slide closed softly behind him.

After Hijikata's departure conversation had slowly started up again, inane and trivial conversation to simply fill the air. The day continued as was the norm but it was clear that their hearts had grown heavy. They were trying to pretend that they were not affected by the conversation, that they weren't waiting with terse impatience for dinner and the answer it would bring. Saitou had packed his things and placed his bag in the entryway by the northern gate, a clear and reverberating statement. He was leaving tomorrow, with or without permission.

That day was one that the younger recruits took to naming the dragon's day after the ryuu in Ryunosuke and the cold air of dangerous upset that had seemed to grip the entire compound. There did not seem to be a single member if the original Roshigumi that was not upset that day. Okita seemed to be picking a fight with anyone and anything that crossed his path, not the mention three separate fights with Heisuke, Sanosuke and Shinpachi each. The rest did not seem to be any better off, all of them either agitated or depressed. No one seemed to be willing to answer any questions either, about who Ryunosuke Ibuki was or what happened to him or why the mention of him seemed to scratch open every pain and guilt that they had.

This was why Chizuru Yukimura was now in search of Hijikata, she hoped that perhaps he might be willing to clear away some of the confusion. All of which would be far simpler if she could find the confounding man. Something about the name seemed to ring in the back of her mind, niggling like it was something important she had forgotten.

Her search proved to be unsuccessful. In fact it, seemed to be impossible to find or stop any one of them for more than a moment, they were constantly training or patrolling or having an important piece of information to report or any number of things to do. They were quite clearly avoiding the compound, almost as if they couldn't bare to look at the things they had accomplished. It wasn't until the sun had begun setting and she was preparing dinner that an answer presented itself in the form of Keisuke Sannan.

She was washing the rice when he simply strolled in and began chopping ingredients.

"Make Unagi Hitsumabushi." he said before indicating a package that he'd put on the counter, "I bought the eel."

She simply nodded silently, somewhat taken aback by the odd sight of Keisuke being in the kitchen, and being helpful at all really.

An odd sort of mood settled in the room. He seemed to be perfectly at ease chopping away while Chizuru didn't know what to make of the situation. It was not that there was someone else in the kitchen, she had had help before, it was simply that it was Keisuke and the fact that he didn't seem out of place at all when he clearly should be.

"It was his favourite."

"Wh-What?" She startled.

"Unagi Hitsumabushi was Ibuki-kun's favourite dish." He said, "Both to cook and to eat."

"U-um..." She didn't know how to respond to that.

"You have been asking questions. You want to know."

"Yes..." She lowered her head "I want to know. I want to know who he is, why does the mention of him makes everyone behave so strangely? Why does Saitou-san want to go looking for him? What happened and why does it make everyone so upset? And why does no one want to answer any questions about it?"

Keisuke smirked and laughed softly at her. "Plenty of questions then."

She blushed deeply, she hadn't meant to babble like that.

His expression turned serious and he turned his attention back to the ingredients before him. "It would be best if you didn't ask these questions at dinner." He said "Ryunosuke Ibuki-san is a very sensitive topic."

"But I want to know!"

"Yes, I know you do." He replied, "I also know that you will continue asking regardless of how uncomfortable that makes the other."

She looked away, ashamed that she had not even considered that this might be a difficult topic for them.

"Which is why I will be explaining the situation to you." Her head shot up and she gazed at him in disbelief, "In exchange you will hold your tongue on the topic for tonight and the next few days, if your tiny little brain can handle that?"

She scowled, hating the amusement in his eyes.

"Do we have an accord, Chizuru-chan?"

Receiving a nod in answer Keisuke returned his attention to his hands and began.

"Ryunosuke Ibuki-kun represents all the best and worst things about us in equal measure. He was something of a stray that Serizawa-san had brought in when we were first finding our way in Kyoto. I was not as close to him a the others but I knew him well enough to tell you that he was in many ways little more than a boy. All of the duties that you now preform were once Ibuki-kun's, as well as some duties that are not yours. For the most part it can be said with relative accuracy that he served both Serizawa-san and the Shinsengumi. He made it infinity easier for us in the beginning, he was in a way our support. He worked hard and his efforts meant that we could focus on improving ourselves and achieving our goals rather than simply surviving here in the city.

He was energetic, kind and far too curious. He was always willing to indulge Heisuke-kun, Shinpachi-san and Sanosuke-san in their games and distractions and he returned all of Kondou-san's jests in kind. He would obey Hijikata-san and myself when needed but he was never afraid to question us if he thought it necessary. He would return whatever Okita-san sent his way just as good as he got. In those days it was almost as if he had unintentionally become the heart of the Shinsengumi. No, not almost, he was our heart, we just hadn't realised it at the time."

Keisuke placed the vegetables into a pan and motioned for her to bring the eel closer, before continuing.

"There wasn't a person within our ranks that didn't like him, that hadn't been helped by him or learned something by interacting with him. Even I was fond of him, his cooking in particular. Ibuki-kun could be as stubborn and ill-tempered as the worst of us, but he could also be patient and caring. Regardless of whether you clashed with him upon your first meeting or not, he always seemed to be able to find a way to get along with the people around him. It was as if he spoke each person's individual language and understood them in a way that others simply couldn't. Even Serizawa, with his foul temper and endless criticism sat down with him a time or two, drinking sake and sharing stories. Saitou-san in particular formed a close bond with Ibuki-kun, he seemed to enjoy spending time with him and had just started teaching him to defend himself from attack when things fell apart.

Ibuki-kun was not an official member of the Shinsengumi. He was working here because he owed Serizawa-san a life debt, not that his attitude would ever have told you that. Therefore if anything happened to Serizawa-san he would not have any viable reason to stay. Not officially and not in the eyes of the public or the Shogunate, all of whom were firmly fixed on us at the time."

A brief look of sadness passed through his eyes, before it vanished and his usual taunting expression returned. He motioned for Chizuru to hand him the rice and began cooking that as she gathered the serving dishes.

"Before his death Serizawa-san was already suspected of various illegal and immoral dealings, therefore when our investigation revealed these dealings the Shogun's orders were clear. Serizawa-san was to be executed, privately and without witnesses - Ibuki-kin was exempt only because it was clear that he was not fully aware of these dealings and did not realise the significance of the things that he was aware of. Saitou-san and several other members took him with to go drinking with Kondou-san, hoping that he would not realise what was happening. That he would be able to join us or to leave peacefully, that he would remain unaware that we were not the people he believed us to be. Our choice was deceitful, selfish and immoral; we were clinging to a dream.

The plan failed. One Serizawa-san's associates got wind of our plans and made a passing mention to Ibuki-kun at the drinking tea-house where they were. Being the bleeding heart that he was Ibuki-kun rushed off as soon as he understood what was going on, the fool thought that we could all just talk things out."

Chizuru suddenly found herself fixed with a cold, unfeeling stare.

"Orders are orders, Chizuru-chan. Our personal feelings on the matter were completely beside the point. Ibuki-kun saw Serizawa-san's execution and we hunted him down through the city. No witnesses, no leniency. Eventually he was cornered by Okita-kun on a bridge over the northern river. The boy might not have know anything about fighting but he had a firm grasp on surviving no matter the cost. He threw mud into Okita-kun's eyes and jumped into the river below, it was in the middle of the summer floods...

We reported to the shogun that he had not witnessed anything and had left peacefully the next day in search of new employment. It is possible that he survived, he was a sturdy young man who grew up in an area surrounded by water after all.

The fact remains however that Ibuki-kun's fate was a result of our actions and inaction, the choices we made and the choices we didn't make are what led him to be caught in such a situation. His story is the story of our greatest failures and our most self-serving decisions. We deluded ourselves into believing that we could accomplish our goals without accepting the consequences, that we could gain without giving in turn, and Ibuki-kun paid the price.

I believe that his fate influenced the decision to allow you to stay, your duties and the way that you are treated is in many ways reminiscent of how we all interacted with him. Perhaps that is why many of us would rather not discuss this with you, almost like discussing the dead before they have been buried..."

Keisuke placed the last serving on a tray and walked towards the door, pausing just before he left the glanced back and said "Saitou-san was remarkably fond of and close to Ibuki-kun. He never could quite forgive us or himself for what happened to him." Raising his hand in a casual wave the man left, calling out over his shoulder, "Don't forget our deal, little Chizuru-chan; keep you mouth shut tonight."


End file.
